Chaotic Overdrive
by HosekiDragon
Summary: Chaotic's just a card game to some people. But for those of us who know what it really is...it's our addiction. We can't let it go. Slight AU. DISCONTINUED
1. Preface

_What 4Kids aired…that wasn't the real thing. _This_ is the real thing.

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**PREFACE

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**

It was one of the most carefully guarded secrets on the planet.

It was not the location of Area 51.

It was not the schematics for a weapon of ultimate destruction.

It was not the secret of immortality.

It was not even a secret message encoded in the pages of history.

It was a game.

A game that led to a parallel universe fraught with wonder and danger. A universe called Perim.

But what of this game? What was it called?

Surely it was named something dramatic, something that reflected its supernatural nature, something mysterious that hinted at its hidden origins.

The name of the game was…Chaotic.

And it was a trading card game.


	2. Welcome to Chaotic, Part I

_How'd ya' like _them_ Snickerdoodles!_

_Oops, and I do not own Chaotic.

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**Welcome to Chaotic**

**Part I

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**

Tom woke up feeling like it was going to be a good day. He couldn't have told you how he knew it was going to be a good day, he just knew.

He'd been woken up by the blare of his alarm clock and hadn't even hit the snooze button. He'd gotten right out of bed, taken a shower, and gotten dressed. Then he'd bounded down the stairs into the kitchen and promptly made some toast.

The fact that he _hadn't_ hit the snooze button that morning meant he was—for once—ready to go when his best friend showed up at the front door.

"Notify the presses!" Kazdan joked as he and Tom headed down the sidewalk, "Tom Majors is ready for school on time!"

"Cut it out, Kaz!"

Kazdan Kalinkas; called Kaz by everyone but his grandparents; was shorter than Tom by a little less than a head but his red spiky hair made up for it. Kaz was a natural red-head and a natural geek. Tom swore he hadn't grown up since middle school. The only thing that had changed about his friend was that odd little streak of orange that had sprouted in Kaz's bangs; even Kaz didn't know where it had come from.

But that was all that had changed. Kaz still wore his usual baggy jeans or cargo pants, the slightly too-big T-shirts, and if he wasn't wearing his tan colored vest that had one too many pockets, it was an overly large hoodie. The fact that Kaz wore pink-tinted prescription glasses only added to his awkwardness.

Tom was almost at the other end of the spectrum. He was athletic and even played on the high school soccer team. He wore the crisp, fresh, name brand clothes that Kaz usually wrinkled his nose at and then ruined the whole effect with a T-shirt sporting a random logo of something no had ever heard of. Usually from overseas. Tom's father flew cargo planes back and forth from one continent to the next and he often picked up goodies for Tom along the way.

The two boys, however different they were, had been friends for as long as they could remember and no matter what people said, they would stay friends. Kaz was socially awkward and that usually made him the target of the stereotypical jock bullies and preps. But Tom always seemed to step in at the right time before a situation got a little _too_ out of hand.

But things had been different lately and Tom had been wondering if high school was a bit too much for his best friend.

Lately, Kaz had been saying that Chaotic was real.

Which was just plain impossible as Chaotic was simply a trading card game—on and offline—that pretty much everyone played.

But Kaz insisted it was real and would venomously rebuke anyone who told him otherwise. He ignored the fact that he'd become the laughing stock of the school and went about life as he usually did; socially awkward, clumsy, and a totally geek.

Tom had kept it to himself that he thought his friend was losing his marbles and put up with Kaz's rants about meeting Creatures and what-not. But it was rubbing his nerves raw and he was getting sick of it. Sooner or later, Kaz would have to grow up and face the real world. Tom just didn't want to be the one to make him do it.

"Hey Tom, guess what I did last night!" Kaz nudged his friend in the side.

"Your Physics homework?" Tom muttered, pulling his iPod from his pocket and sticking on earbud in his right ear.

"I went to Crystal Range and—."

Tom rolled his eyes and tuned his friend out, listening instead to his music. He was planning on having a good day and he didn't want Kaz's insane ravings to ruin it. As they reached the school, Tom put iPod away and picked up the pace, to put some space between himself and Kaz.

"Tom! Hey, Tom! Wait up, where ya' goin'?" Kaz jogged to catch up with his friend, hefting his backpack on his shoulders, "Did you really want to get to school that badly?"

"Oh yeah," Tom responded jokingly, "I _really_ want to go Ms. Gabler's English class _so_ badly!"

Kaz laughed and kicked the front door open with his foot. They continued trading banter back and forth to one another all the way to the Freshman lockers. Tom spun the dial on his locker, focusing on the numbers, and knew Kaz was doing the same three lockers down. As he started putting his books away in his locker, Tom heard a crash from his left and looked around.

Kevin Masson, the quarterback of the high school football team, and his buddy Steven Bell, had Kaz pinned face-first against the locker. Kevin had one massive hand against the back of Kaz's neck and was pushing his face against the metal door of the locker. Steven had Kaz's backpack and was swinging it back and forth in a mocking sort of way.

"Wanna tell us that story about how you play Chaotic, Kalinkas?" Kevin sneered, pushing against Kaz's neck even more. Kaz made a strangled sort of noise and struggled to get away, pressing his hands against the locker and kicking with his feet to try and lever Kevin off of him.

"Don't struggle, Kalinkas!" Steven kicked Kaz in the back of the leg and Kaz sagged against the locker, still pinned there by Kevin, "It only makes it more difficult to teach you when to shut up!"

"Hey!" Tom slammed his locker shut and stomped up to the two bullies, "Leave him alone!"

"Well looky here, it's the star of the soccer team!" Kevin scoffed but let go of Kaz, "What, can't let Kaz fight his own battles?"

Tom glared at the two jocks. Steven huffed and threw the backpack into Kaz's chest. Then the two jocks turned and left. Tom reached down and helped Kaz to his feet. Kaz rubbed the side of his face, adjusted his glasses, and opened his locker. Tom watched his friend shove his things into his locker harder than necessary.

"Why do you let those guys push you around?" Tom asked as Kaz slammed his locker shut with a ringing crash.

"I don't." Kaz snapped back bitterly, holding his books under one arm, "They're just stronger than me."

Tom didn't say anything for a while but when they got to an intersection in the halls and Kaz started to head off in the opposite direction for his first class, Tom grabbed his shoulder,

"Wanna play some Chaotic after school today?"

Kaz brightened considerably at that, "Yeah! See you third hour, Tom!" And he headed off down the hall towards his class.

"Sure." Tom muttered, wishing he hadn't granted Kaz the invitation. Somehow or another, Kaz always managed to start ranting about how Chaotic was a real place. Which it wasn't.

One of these days, it was going to get him into trouble.

* * *

Tom forgot about playing Chaotic after school as the day wore on though.

It was Friday; which meant you were supposed to be lazy and drowsy in the classroom and obnoxious and disruptive in the hallways. Tom did his fair share of Friday-non-paying-attention-ness; instead of taking notes in his (easily passable) World History class, he attempted to draw pictures in his notebook though the pictures were really just stick figures having an all out war against one another. In his composition class, the prompt for his free write was "I'd rather be a fish than…" and he came up with a list of about fifty things. Random things. Things like, a smaller fish, the square root sign, and dead. Or a zombie. Or y as a vowel. Or The Twilight Series. Or dead again.

Yes, Friday was a wonderfully unproductive day.

Until Kaz cornered him at his locker after school and reminded him that they were supposed to play Chaotic together.

Tom smiled, nodded, and said he'd meet Kaz in the cafeteria; it was where everyone went to play Chaotic after school. But as soon as Kaz had vanished around the corner, Tom's smile dropped and he moved as slowly as possible as he began putting things into his backpack.

_You should really tell him._ Said his guilty conscious, _He's your best friend after all._ Tom only scowled. Yes, Kaz had been his best friend since they were little and, yes, he was always looking out for him. But this time Kaz was taking things too far.

_Maybe he's mentally unstable._ Tom thought, trying to reason with himself, _If thinking Chaotic is real makes him happy and I tell him it's not he might snap and…do something stupid. Yeah, so I shouldn't say anything. Nope. Not a thing._

Satisfied and yet somehow still wary, Tom set off towards the cafeteria, his bag safely in his locker and his laptop under his arm. He left his cards and his Code Scanner at home.

Unlike Kaz who carried his Code Scanner around absolutely _everywhere_ and was always playing around with it. Code Scanners were pocket-sized devices that made trading online cards easy in a local area. If one didn't have a computer handy, they could simply use the Scanner to trade the Codes at the bottom of the cards with a friend and the cards automatically transferred. It was pretty nifty. But, like every thing else, Kaz seemed to think they did more.

Like they somehow let him transport to Chaotic.

Which they obviously didn't because he never disappeared.

Tom shrugged his shoulders as he entered the cafeteria, shedding the thoughts of his delusional best friend. Speaking of, he spotted Kaz sitting a corner unsurprisingly playing around with his Scanner. Tom rolled his eyes and took a step forward but Matt Sharpe blocked his path. Matt was an ex-soccer player; he'd been kicked off the team after Tom had joined because of multiple rule-breakings and misconduct. For some reason, he'd blamed Tom for the whole thing and had held a grudge against him for it ever since.

"What, Matt?" Tom glared at the other boy. They were about the same height but while Tom had kept in shape, Matt had definitely let being off the team get to him.

"I'm challenging you, Majors." Matt spat, "You and me, UnderWorlders versus OverWorlders, right here. Right now."

"Already got a match, thanks." Tom tried to step around Matt but the boy moved in his way once again.

"Nuh-uh, Majors! You're not backing out of this one!"

"Matt, you challenge me every day! And everyday I cream you! Also note that I have a first name! It's _Tom_!"

"Whatever." Matt growled, "We're having a match now or you can bet the next time you see your buddy over there he'll be wearing those glasses of his around his teeth!" Matt jerked a thumb at Kaz who had finally noticed the commotion at the cafeteria entrance and was coming over to find out what it was all about.

"You're messed up!" Tom snarled, "Leave Kaz alone!"

"Why? Worried about your crazy friend? Worried he's gonna get locked away?" Matt sneered.

"Hey, what's going on?" Kaz asked, walking up beside the two other boys. Tom noticed a fresh bruise on his friend's arm. Had that been there earlier? "Tom, aren't we going to have a match?"

"Shove off, freak, this ain't your business!" Matt flung a fist out and caught Kaz in the shoulder. Kaz stumbled backwards into the gathering crowd of teenagers all ringing the trio, interested to see what was happening.

"Leave him alone!" Tom shouted.

"Piss off!" Kaz shouted at the same time. His fists were clenched at his sides, his arms quivering.

_He's going to do something stupid…_

"Alright, _fine_!" Tom said loudly, stepping between his best friend and ex-soccer player, "I'll play a match against you! Geez, you don't have to go starting a fight over a stupid game of Chaotic. You're such a loser."

The crowd of students drifted away, disappointed that there hadn't been a fight. Kaz hung back, watching silently over Tom's shoulder as he set up his deck online and prepared to beat Matt down. Across the table, on his own laptop, Matt was busily clicking away with a smug grin on his face. He noticed Kaz watching and flipped the bespectacled boy the finger. Kaz's face turned pink and he sullenly crossed his arms over his chest, tearing his gaze away to stare at Tom's screen.

* * *

At some point during the game, Kaz had drifted off and not returned. Tom had barely noticed, too focused on his game. Matt was a decent player—not a very good one but a decent one and Tom gave him the respect of a well-played match.

Just as he dealt the finishing blow that won him the game, Kaz walked back into the cafeteria with a hand over the bruise on his arm. But when he saw Tom throw his hands victoriously into the air, he jumped over to congratulate him, "Awesome match, Tom!"

"Thanks!" Tom stood up, "Those OverWorld strategy tips, they really worked! Where'd you get 'em?"

"Ooooh, just watching some other players." Kaz said with an evasive smile. Tom was about to bug him for more information when his laptop dinged behind him, telling him he had mail. He turned around and clicked it open.

"That's weird, it says it's from Chaotic." Tom muttered out loud. Kaz leaned over his shoulder to look as Tom opened the message, "What the heck is this? It's gibberish! Nothing but a bunch of letters! This better not be a virus!"

"Tom—oh, man, no way—Tom, that's a password!" Kaz said enthusiastically, "You got a password to Chaotic! You can go into the game and play _for real_!"

Tom stared at him. Kaz's brow eyes were dancing with happiness and there was a big, stupid grin on his face. Tom glanced around; a few people were looking around at them.

"Aheh, sure Kaz." He draped an arm around his friend's shoulders, "Great imagination there, buddy!"

"Wha—no! Tom I'm being serious—mmmpphh!" Tom clapped a hand over Kaz's mouth, laughing weakly.

"Hilaaaaarious, Kaz!" He was aware of some of the other students wandering up to see what Kaz was blathering on about, "You're sooooo funny!" He dropped his hand, "Time to go!" Before Kaz could get another word out, Tom had snapped his laptop shut and walked out of the cafeteria. Kaz jogged after him.

"Tom, this is _so_ major!" Kaz kept talking as they reached their lockers, "Eh, no pun intended. Anyway, you're going to get to play Chaotic! For real!" Tom tried to stop himself from scowling as he threw open his locker door, "You'll get to meet Maxxor! And I'll introduce you to Blugon! He's cool…'cause he lives on a glacier! Get it? Cool? On a glacier?" Kaz laughed. Tom ducked into his locker, pretending to reach for something, and rolled his eyes, "Oh, and wait until you meet my friend, H'earring! Where's your Scanner?"

"My Scanner," Tom said, not bothering to hide the annoyance in his voice as he stepped back with his loaded backpack, "Is at home. I don't carry it around with me _everywhere_ unlike _some people_." He stuck his face pointedly in Kaz's and his friend grinned. Tom kicked his locker shut and turned to leave.

"Well then let's hurry up and get to your house!" Kaz said, falling into step beside him, "The sooner we get there, the sooner we can—."

"Kaz, will you stop it!?" Tom whirled around and Kaz froze mid-step, looking startled. Tom took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down, "Look, you're my best friend so I've put up with all your stories of 'tales-of-Perim-I-transported-to-Chaotic' thing," He gestured as though by doing so, he could make it clearer what he meant, "But it's getting really old."

"Tom, Chaotic is a _real place_!" Kaz continued as though he hadn't heard his friend, undeterred by the annoyed expression that was now clearly visible on Tom's face, "You can really get into the game and when you do…" A strange, far off look of ecstasy washed over Kaz's face, "It's the most incredible thing in the world…!"

"_You're_ incredible!" Tom snapped, now officially angry. He turned his back on Kaz, heading for the front doors, "Go home, Kaz! And lay off the Chaotic fantasies for a while!"

Kaz made a desperate noise at the back of his throat but called after his friend, "As soon as you get home, enter that password! I'll meet you in Chaotic, okay?" No response, "Okay!?" Tom did not answer. Kaz sighed, feeling slightly deflated.

He tossed his backpack over his shoulder and leaned against his locker door to shut it, wincing when he put pressure on his bruised arm. Kaz peered at it and scowled.

"Gotta be more careful…" He muttered and then started out the door, "He'll see. As soon as he puts that password in…he'll see." Kaz grinned, "Then I can say "I told you so.""

* * *

_There it is. The end of the official first chapter of Chaotic Overdrive. I had fun writing it, I hope you had fun reading it._

_I wanted to set up the scene and the characters a bit more, which is why I threw in that whole beginning there. It was fun to write too. Mm, maybe I got a little too cliché with the bullies but come on. Kaz rants almost daily about Chaotic, and he's a total nerd; I'm sorry but he has bully-target written all over him. _

_My faves always seem to be nerds and bully targets. _

_Anyway, I hope you liked it and will stick around for another chapter! Because there's going to be a lot more where this came from… _


	3. Welcome to Chaotic, Part II

_Chapter two! Hahahahaha! Welcome to Rapture…! Er…Chaotic…

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**Welcome to Chaotic**

**Part II

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**

It was pitch black outside and the lights in most of the other houses were off. One yellow light splashed across the branches of a tree on the second floor of a tan colored house. The window through which the light came was open, allowing a cool night breeze to waft in and flip Tom's black bangs as he lay stretched out on his bed. He should have been asleep but it was Friday night and his parents were out. So he lay there, propped against the headboard, headphones in, and dressed for sleep but forgoing it.

He'd had a great Friday night. A frozen pizza, three cans of soda, and half a bag of potato chips while watching through _300_ as well as _Push. _Then he'd played _Road Rager 7_, a game he'd borrowed from Kaz, eaten two leftover tacos, and played some more _Road Rager_ until eleven at which point he'd gone up to his room and stretched out on his bed.

"_It's more than just a game!_" He sang along with the music, tapping his foot and folding a paper airplane out of some old math homework, "_This is how it's meant to be! I'm losing my identity, 100 percent of me!"_ He tossed the airplane and it sailed away before crashing landing on the floor beside his desk, "Da-da-da-da-DA-DA!" He laughed to himself and stood up to retrieve his airplane. Upon reaching his desk, he noticed that his Code Scanner was blinking.

Tom pulled out his earbuds and set his iPod aside, picking up his Scanner instead. He frowned at it. There were no less than _twelve_ missed messages and all of them were from _KidChaor_. KidChaor was Kaz's screen name. Even as he glared at his Scanner, it beeped at him in a mockingly, friendly way. Tom answered,

"What?"

"You didn't use your password yet!" Kaz cried. Tom rolled his eyes, "Are you _cracked_!?"

"Not this again. Kaz, listen—."

"No, _you_ listen!" Kaz answered back sharply and Tom scowled at him, "That code is only valid _today_! If you don't use it now, you'll probably never get another password and you'll never see Perim! Or Maxxor! Or…or anything!" Kaz sighed and got control of himself, "Look, it's five to twelve. I know it sounds insane but you have to _trust _me!" Tom opened his mouth to protest but Kaz cut him off again, "Do it. Right now. Before it's too late." And he ended the call without giving Tom a chance to argue back.

"Ahhhhgggg!" Tom rubbed a hand irritatedly though his hair but powered up his laptop anyway. He'd input the stupid password and show Kaz that there was _nothing_ special about it, "Crazy Kaz…!" He grumbled as he hit some keys, "And his crazy fantasies! Tch, I'm just as crazy as he is!" Tom entered the string of letters into his Code Scanner. There was silence, then the screen on his Scanner blurred and blinked off, "Crazy…!"

Tom hit the button to turn it back on…and got no response, "What the…!?" He hit the button again and still got nothing, "Great! Now it's broken! I was right! It _was_ a virus! Kaz is delusional!" He turned to his laptop and hit some keys, "I can't even access my deck!" He snarled a couple of words that he never would have said if his parents were around and slammed his laptop shut. Then he stood up and glared at his Code Scanner.

"You're a wacko, Kaz!" He growled, stomping across the room to his open window, "And you owe me a new Scanner!" And he hurled the device into the night. By the light of the streetlamp, he could see it settle into the trashcan in the alley between his and his neighbor's house.

Tom glared down at what he though was now a worthless piece of junk and then slammed his window shut and drew the curtains. A few seconds later, the light went out in the room.

* * *

Rewind back to the moment when Tom input the password into his Code Scanner.

At the precise moment he hit the button and his Scanner seemed to shut down, a wormhole was generated in his mind by the unnoticed electronic spark that leapt between himself and his Scanner. The force of the wormhole being opened pulled a string of neurotransmitters that was hovering between the limbic and thalamus sections of the brain through it.

While spiraling along the wormhole, the neurotransmitters were reoriented and transformed by codes and commands within the wormhole. Upon reaching the wormhole's end, the lonely string of neurotransmitters had been given a form.

Tom Majors landed in a white space with a thud and smashed his face against a wall of glass.

"Ooowwww…" He groaned and pushed himself upright. His back hit another wall of glass. Slightly panicked, Tom put his hands out and found himself in a tube of glass. A hissing noise and the glass slid down into the floor. Tom blinked and looked around.

He appeared to be in a huge building. The roof was curved and arched, covered in waved beams that braced its intricate design. There was more than one level of the room; Tom was on the larger first level, standing on a ring of gray-blue circles that ringed a marble fountain. Spread out around him were round white tables surrounded by pale blue chairs and large screens hung from the walls and large white pillars. The two other levels were similar but the third level appeared to have a snack bar or something. Arched passages led outside the building and people were walking around or sitting at the table and chatting.

There was a strange keening noise and Tom looked around. A cylinder of glass rose up next to him and blue light filled it. The light sparkled and narrowed and faded into a girl. The glass cylinder dropped into the floor and the girl looked around at him; she caught sight of his pajamas and giggled. Tom turned red as she walked away.

Where was he? What had happened to him? The last thing he remembered was typing that password into his Scanner and then blue and then he was here. Wherever here was.

"MajorTom," Said a voice and Tom looked around to see himself staring back. He blinked. No, it was his reflection from a tinted pane of glass on the front of a robot with a triangular head, a thin, curving neck, and a round body, "Welcome to Chaotic."

Tom screamed, turned, and ran.

The robot followed him, "MajorTom, your first Drome match begins in three minutes, I'm afraid there's not time for hysterics. "

"Leave me alone!" Tom cried, rushing past a group of boys about his own age. Their laughter followed him as he passed them by. He ducked around into an alcove in the wall and watched breathlessly as the robot shot past him.

"This can't be happening!" Tom muttered, staring at his hands, then back around the great building, and then back at his hands, "It just _can't_! I must…I must be…I must be going—!"

"Crazy?" Came a voice and Tom looked up to see Kaz standing there with his arms crossed and a smirk on his face, "Heh, good thing you were screaming so loud or I never would have found you in time!"

"Kaz!" Tom breathed a sigh of relief and pushed himself away from the wall and held out his hand. Kaz slapped him a high five, chuckling.

"I told you so." He said, still smirking.

"Dude…" Tom said, unable to find anything else to say.

"I know." Kaz said with a grin.

"Dude!" Tom repeated.

"I know!"

"DUDE!"

"I KNOW!"

"_DUDE_!"

"Tom, you don't even _say_ "dude!""

"I _KNOW_!" Tom said enthusiastically, his voice cracking a little in his excitement and wonder.

"And you haven't even _seen_ anything yet!" Kaz said, "Come on, you can't be late for matches or you forfeit." And he walked off.

Tom looked around one last time and muttered under his breath, "Dude…" before following Kaz out of the big building and onto a moving sidewalk.

The outside was incredible. Streams of crystal clear water ran out from underneath the building they had just left and out towards the edges of what looked like an island floating in a sea of white mist. A monorail wooshed by them, heading towards another architectural wonder. Gardens of trees and flowers and soft green grass circled the paths and fountains and pillars, giving a sweet feeling of spring about the place. Smaller structures of polished white marble were nestled among the plant life; small pools of crystal water, shaded benches, and tiny, curtained pavilions. Glancing back behind him, Tom saw the building they had just left. It towards above the others with balconies and many levels coming out of it every which way.

"That's the Port Court." Kaz said, catching him looking at it, "It's where you port in and out of Chaotic."

Tom shook his head, running a hand nervously through his black hair, "I ate tacos after ten." He said, trying to convince himself, "That's what this is: bad taco dream!"

Kaz laughed at him, "It's no dream, Tom!" It's the real deal! See that up there?" Kaz pointed just ahead of them. A half-sphere building of sapphire blue with silver pieces of steel pointing off of it loomed in front of the monorail track, "That's a Battle Drome! The Crellan Drome, if you wanna get it right."

"Crellan Drome, right." Tom said, unable to hide the nervousness seeping into his voice.

"Relax!" Kaz clapped him on the shoulder, "There are seven Battle Dromes to play in, just like online. Each Drome is run by a Codemaster and the Codemasters keep an eye on everything happening within Chaotic so don't break any rules or you'll get kicked out and never be able to come back." Tom gulped but Kaz didn't seem to notice, "I'll explain everything else later…after you win your first Drome match!"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Back up!" Tom stepped off the moving sidewalk after Kaz and they climbed up a few flights of stairs, stopping in front of a round, red thing Tom could only supposed was door, "I don't ever have my _cards_! All I have is my Scanner! How am I supposed to play without my cards?"

"Trust me, you don't need them." Kaz said.

"Soooo…we're gonna play online?"

"Mmm…" The door-thing opened with a clatter and white light spilled out, "Not exactly." Kaz pushed Tom into the light.

"Hey—!" Tom managed to shout before the light engulfed him and the door shut, blocking Kaz from view.

He suddenly found himself in a circular room made of some kind of bluish metal that was surprisingly warm against his bare feet. The walls and floor were laced with neon blue streams of light that were just as much a part of the metal as they were separate. Tom clutched his Code Scanner, unsure of what he was supposed to be doing.

"H-hello?" He was ashamed to hear his voice squeak.

A noise made him jump and something faded into being near the top of the room. It was the Chaotic symbol, its arches spinning and rotating around its spherical center. A metallic post with a rectangular fold of metal on the top rose out of the floor.

"MajorTom," Said a deep, robotic voice, "State the name of your Tribe."

"Uh…I…OverWorlders." Tom replied.

"Place your hand in the dock." Said the voice. Tom stepped forward and, holding his Code Scanner in his left hand, pressed the palm of his right hand into the metal rectangle. A dizziness swept over him and his right hand was suddenly full of the feeling of pins and needles. He stumbled back, his right hand pressed against his chest, and blinked the painful tears from his eyes. He stared at his hand.

The navy blue OverWorld symbol—an empty circle with a smaller filled circle inside it and an arched line overtop of it—was etched into the skin on his palm. He swallowed and looked around for the exit. There didn't appear to be a door at all anymore.

"MajorTom," Said the robotic voice again, "Place your Scanner in the dock."

Tom gingerly placed his blue Scanner in the metallic rectangle and pulled back sharply. A translucent screen faded into place. It looked very similar to what appeared when you set up your deck before an online match.

"Sweet special effects…" Tom tried to run his hand through what he thought was simply a project but found that it was solid, almost like a flat screen TV. He reached out and spun one of the roulettes that was off to his right. All the Creature cards in his desk flashed passed him, "Hey! It's my deck!" He spun the others, "Mugic, Battle Gear, and Locations!" He stopped the spinning of the Location roulette, "Okay…but who am I playing?"

A circular opening appeared across the room from him, white light spilling from it, and an Asian boy stepped into the Drome. His hair was blue black and he was wearing a pair of thick glasses.

"SamShady, please dock your Scanner." Said the robotic voice. The boy stepped forward and placed his red Scanner on the dock.

"You a newbie?" Sam asked, looking Tom up and down.

"Uh, yeah." Tom said, "How'd you guess?"

"Your boxer shorts are kind of a give away." Sam pointed to Tom's bright yellow undergarments. Tom blushed again; he was wearing an old, plain white T-shirt and his boxer shorts because he'd been ready for bed.

"But don't worry." The other boy kept talking, "I'll help you out. What's your tribe?"

"Well, I…mostly use OverWorlders and I almost always use Maxxor—." Tom began but was cut off suddenly.

"Why don't you just hand him your deck?" Kaz's voice asked almost mockingly, "Stop _talking_ to him!" Tom looked around wildly but his best friend was nowhere in sight. There was an exasperated sigh, "Down _here_! On your Scanner!"

Tom glanced down and felt a little stupid. Of _course_ Kaz was on his Scanner. They messaged each other and had video conversations all the time.

"Don't talk strategy with him! He's your opponent! You're not trying to make friends with him!" Kaz was all business, "Alright, just set up your battle team. He can't see your cards but don't blab anymore."

"Alright, alright, _Mom_." Tom said, his pride a little stung, "Just tell me how to work this thing already!"

"It's just like online only," Kaz paused for a moment, thinking of what to say next, "Only it's a little more…hands on." Tom remembered the roulette wheels and reached out, using one finger to click the wheels around, "Theeeere you go. Alright, now this is just a one on one match so you can get used to the way things work. So pick your Creature."

"Uuhhh…" Tom rotated through his Creatures, "Well, I guess I'll stick with my best card. Maxxor!" He moved the card to the battle table.

"Good a choice as any." Kaz responded, "Sam over there's doing the exact same thing. He's picking one Battle Gear and one Mugic just like you." Tom glanced down at his Code Scanner, "Here's a little helpful hint: Sam's just like me, an UnderWorlder."

"So most of the attacks will probably be fire based…" Tom thought out loud. He started rifling through his Battle Gear. _An Aqua Shield. Perfect._ He moved the Battle Gear into place, _Now Mugic…hm…if I need a real power boost then…Fortissimo!_ Tom slid the selected Mugic into place, "Right, I finished setting everything up." He said.

"Good now pick ten Locations and make sure they play to _your_ Creature's strengths! Like I said, just like online. Only not." Tom wished Kaz would stop being so cryptic. Tom slid ten locations into the white roulette beneath the selection screen.

"Lock your decks." Said the robot voice.

"Here goes nothing. And everything." Tom watched as SamShady hit the button on top of his Scanner and mimicked him.

"That's my cue." Kaz said smiling, "You're on your own from here on out. Just one quick piece of advice: brace yourself."

"What? What do you mean?" Tom looked down at his Scanner but the screen was black, "Kaz? Kaz!?"

"MajorTom, because this is your first Drome battle you will be the attacker." The deep voice said, "Spin your Location Randomizer." Tom figured that meant the wheel he'd dumped his Locations in. He reached out and spun it. Locations flashed past faster than he could keep track of until it finally clicked to a stop on a picture of a pure white landscape of ice and snow, "Glacier Planes."

"Yes!" Tom clenched fist. An OverWorld Location, of course. Things were already looking up.

"MajorTom, choose the attacking and defending Creatures."

_There's only one choice…_

"Maxxor attacks Takinom!" He announced.

"MajorTom, touch your Tribal Crest to your Maxxor card."

Tom glanced down at the blue OverWorld symbol on his right hand. Then, with a slight hesitation, he reached out and pressed it against the picture of his favorite Creature. A blue light gleamed from his hand and then an unbelievable pain lanced through his arm and down his spine. He cried out and doubled over.

"Newbie." He heard Sam say and looked up through narrowed eyes to see Sam pressed his hand against his Takinom card. Sam gritted his teeth and hunched over. Tom saw his hair lengthened, claws sprouted from his fingertips, and his eyes become catlike and dangerous before the pain swept over him again.

The muscles in his arms and legs spasmed and he shouted a wordless cry. His skin darkened and turned green. Tom gasped for breath, shocked by what was happening and by the pain. He felt like his bones were stretching and crunching and moving around. His insides twisted up.

"Don't fight it, MajorTom!" He heard Sam's voice say, though it was strained and harsh, "It just makes it worse!"

The words didn't stick in his head.

His entire body was on fire. He wanted to scream but he couldn't. His throat was tight and constricted. His body was tight and quivering and he felt as though he was being pulled in all directions.

And just seconds later the feelings ebbed away.

Tom gasped, breathing heavily, and wiped a hand over his face. Then he froze and stared at his hands.

They were green and large and not the human ones he'd thought he'd be seeing.

"Wha-wha-what is this!?" That wasn't his voice either! Tom looked himself up and down. This red outfit…it was so familiar…

That's when it hit him.

"I…I'm Maxxor!?"

* * *

_Weellll, this one certainly got away from me. That's probably why it ended up being so long. By the way, I'm no expert in the human brain so if that portion where the wormhole opens in Tom's mind is incorrect in any way, I apologize for that. I just went by some psychology notes from my Senior year of high school. _

_Aaaannnyyyway, there is the awesomeness that is the beginning of…more awesomeness. _

_So you can see some obvious changes. I changed the time in which Tom entered his Transport Code because, seriously? 11:59? I don't think so. Honestly, unless he left his laptop on I very much doubt he could get that code in before 12:00. So XP to you 4Kids._

_The Tribal Crests on their hands are new (which will be explained later) and also the manner in which they transform. I've always been a big fan of the Animorphs series so that pretty much explains where that idea came from. _

_I think that about covers everything I've messed around with so far. If you have any questions, feel free to ask them. _

_Oops, almost forgot. Tom's singing "Cure for the Common Code" which I do not own. And he is actually listening to it in the first episode. It never shows up in the series again after that. _


	4. Welcome to Chaotic, Part III

_The first two episodes of Chaotic on television were "how many lame puns we can cram into a half hour" episodes. Really. They were. Anyway…_

_Onward and upward!

* * *

_

**Welcome to Chaotic**

**Part III

* * *

**

"That's right, Newbie! And now…we fight!" Tom looked across the Drome and gasped. Real life Takinom laughed at him, her wings flared, her claws pointed at him, "Let's get Chaotic!"

The rotating Chaotic symbol started spinning faster and faster. A flare of white light blinded Tom and he threw his hands up. A cold wind snapped across his face and he cracked an eye open.

He was no longer standing in the Drome…he was standing on a field of snow with a near blizzard going on around him. Takinom—or SamShady, he wasn't sure what to call him…her?—was nowhere in sight.

"Okay…" He said in Maxxor's strong, deep voice, "It finally happened. I lost my mind." He shivered as another gust of wind pushed against his bare arms and legs, "Oh brrrr! It's cold! Even the ground is cold!" He lifted a foot and slid a little on the ice.

_I can't control myself._ He thought, nerves making his adrenaline pump, _I'm not used to this body! There's so much power! I wonder if this is how Maxxor feels all the time?_ Tom shook his head, trying to get a hold of himself and lost his balance. His feet (Maxxor's feet?) shot out from underneath him and he slid down a hill, shot off a small cliff edge, and landed head first into a pile of snow. After a bit of struggling, he managed to get reoriented.

"Okaaayyy," He pushed himself out the snow bank, shaking the white flakes from Maxxor's spiky hair, "That was totally not cool. Good thing no one saw that."

* * *

Unbeknownst to Tom, pretty much everyone in the Port Court had seen it.

And they were all laughing at him.

Everyone laughed at newbies; they had no idea what was going on, they were hopeless in Drome matches, and they scared easily. And it was so much fun to watch their first matches in Chaotic

Yes, everyone laughed at newbies. Except if they were Morphers. Nobody laughed at Morphers.

But everyone was laughing at MajorTom.

Everyone except Kaz. He just groaned and slapped his forehead with his hand.

* * *

Back in "Glacier Planes", Tom was running for his life across the snow and ice. SamShady chased after him, fireballs exploding from Takinom's hands. Tom could feel their heat searing his back as he slid down an incline and started dodging between large, ice outcroppings.

"Coward!" Takinom's voice shrieked, bouncing around the ice, "Come out and fight!"

_How do I do that!?_ Tom thought, mind racing. He peered around the ice pillar he was hiding behind. Takinom was nowhere in sight. He swallowed and, against his better judgment, dove out of cover and raced away through the ice structures.

Nothing.

He looked around again, breathing heavily. Where was she—he? And how was he supposed to fight? This was ridiculous.

Flames scorched across his back and he cried out in agony, slamming into the ice. He rolled around, trying to put out the fire the licked at him, and slipped down a hill, rolling head over heels to rest at the bottom. Panting, he glanced up and saw Takinom alight on the hilltop.

"Isn't Maxxor supposed to be the hero of the OverWorld, or something like that?" She raised a clawed hand and pushed her streaming black hair from her face.

"Uh…yeah." Tom got shakily to him feet. His back and arms were seared from the attack and his now green skin crackled as he moved. He automatically pushed the pain to the back of his mind and faced his opponent, "But I have no idea what I'm doing so this doesn't count."

"You're supposed to be fighting me, OverWorlder." SamShady turned Takinom's lips up in a sneer, "But you can't do that if you're too busy fighting yourself."

"Fighting my…what are—WHOA!" Tom ducked another fireball, "Watch it!"

"You watch it, MajorTom!" Takinom took wing again, "This match is mine!"

"Shut UP!" Tom leapt without thinking and grabbed at Takinom's beating wing. Thin membrane and hollow bone crunched underneath Maxxor's strong grip and Takinom howled. They both fell to the snow, wrestling with one another.

All Tom could see was the whiteness of the snow being tossed up in a storm around them and the writhing form of his foe. Hot liquid shot through his veins and stung his mind. He reacted without thinking, grabbing Takinom's head in his hands and smashing it against his own. She fell back, stunned, and he jumped away, heading down a slow decline.

_How did I do that…?_ He wondered. The hotness was still coursing through him. He felt energized, empowered, like he could do anything in the world, _Then why am I running away?_ He dug his feet into the snow and spun about, his back to a high wall of crystal ice.

Takinom shot over the hill, saw him, and started firing flicking balls of fire. Tom dodged, raised his arms, and took aim. Power surged through him, bursting from some area around his heart, and blasted up Maxxor's muscular arms.

"Pebble Storm!" He felt the earth through the layers of ice and snow, trembling beneath his bare feet, obeying him. The ground erupted underneath Takinom and a cascade of black rocks shot up at her. She swerved and smirked at him.

"Finally getting it, are we?" She mocked, "What's wrong, can't do any better than _pebbles_!?"

"You want better…?" Tom felt the energy pouring from his heart again and raised his fists over his head, "Take this! Rock Wave!" He slammed his hands down into the snow. The energy shot out of him and rippled through the ground. Sharp points of frozen earth and ice rocketed across the ground and slammed into Takinom, sending her spiraling backwards. She crashed through a wall of ice and vanished from view. Tom straightened up, grinning.

"Best. Game. _Ever_." He said and took off at a run, heading for the spot where Takinom had crashed through the wall at.

A cavern stretched out before him, its inside painted blue with the sunlight streaming through the thick walls of ice. He crept forward carefully, eyes narrowed as he searched around for his fallen opponent.

"Looking for me!? Torrent of Flames!" A wall of orange and red and yellow roared up at him.

Tom shouted wordlessly and flung himself out of the way. The flames chased him, roaring like a living beast, and licked at his heels. Tom rounded into a tunnel and cringed backwards as the flames soared past and died out as they slammed into a wall.

"Playing hide-and-seek, MajorTom?" He heard Takinom's voice echo off the ice, "What's wrong, run out of pebbles?"

Tom bristled and flew around the corner, striking out with a fist. Takinom grabbed his wrist and lifted him into the air, throwing him over her shoulder so that he slammed painfully to the ground.

"You can do better than that!"

"Do you ever stop talking!?" Tom shot upright with his arms and kicked outward with his feet. He caught Takinom in the chest and sent her hurtling backwards once more. There was a ringing crash as she blasted through another wall of ice. Tom gave chase. The hole Takinom had blasted through led outside but when Tom stepped into the snow she was nowhere to be seen.

"Where aaarrrreeee yooouuuu?" Tom called out and Maxxor's deep voice rang across Glacier Plain.

WHAM!

Something slammed into him from behind and sent him rolling head over heels down a hill. He sailed off a cliff face and found himself tumbling through space, screaming at the top of his lungs. Sparks of thought flitted through his mind, memories that weren't his.

_I'm going to die!_ He thought, flailing around, _I'm going to die and I'm freaking out so bad I'm hallucinating!_

A picture blazed across his mind's eye. The cliff he'd just went over, the ice wall he was passing, and…

Maxxor's large green hand shot out and his fingers curled around an outcropping of ice. Tom swung back and forth for a while, panting, his terror fading. He gulped, swallowed, and took a deep breath to calm himself.

_How did I know this was here?_ He remembered the memory that hadn't been his, _It was…Maxxor's! He knew this was here! Just like he knows…that this isn't just an icey outcropping!_ A skeletal face, gigantic and monsterous, grinned at him from behind a thick sheet of ice.

"You wanna draw this out?" Takinom was suddenly circling overhead, fireballs hissing and spitting in her hands as flakes of snow hit them.

Tom didn't answer, just swung himself up onto the horn of the skeleton beyond the ice and balanced himself there. Then he brought his hands up and tapped into the power sitting in his heart,

"Vine Snare!" The skin on his palms split with all the pain of a paper cut and writhing green vines shot out from his hands. Takinom screeched as they closed around her, pinning her wings to her sides. Tom yanked backwards and Takinom hurlted towards the end of the horn.

At the exact moment of impact, there was a sound like tearing paper and breaking glass and a flare of blue-white light.

Tom found himself back in the Drome, still as Maxxor, looking across the room at Takinom was lying on her stomach on the floor. Even as he watch, her wings shrank in to her back, her hair shortened, glasses grew out of her face, and after a few seconds it was SamShady who was lying on the floor. He groaned as he got up, pushing his hair out of his face. He glared at Tom. Tom winced, feeling his bones melt and his muscles strain as he reverted back to his own body. He suddenly felt…weak. All that power…gone.

"You got lucky." Sam spat and stalked out of the Drome. Tom grinned at Sam's retreating back and headed for the shaft of white light that had opened up behind him, snatching his Scanner off the stand as he went. Kaz was waiting for him outside the Drome.

"Did you _see_ that!?" Tom cried, racing up to his best friend, "Did you see!? I was Maxxor! And I used attacks! And I—!"

"Totally coded SamShady!" Kaz interjected, "That was an awesome first match, Tom!" The two boys high-fived one another, laughing, "Come on, let's head back to the Port Court. We'll take the long way."

Kaz led Tom up a flight of stairs to a platform where other players were sitting in chairs or talking with one another, waiting for the monorail car to come around. Kaz walked past that and onto an elevated sidewalk that ran along side the track for a while before veering off in another direction, arching over the moving sidewalks below and stretching off to the Port courts upper leveled balconies.

"All this time…" Tom murmured as they stepped off the path and onto one of the balconies. He leaned against the railing looking out across Chaotic, "All your crazy stories…all of it's true…" He looked around at Kaz who was leaning his back against the railing, elbows propped on it with his back to the scenic view, "I could stay here forever."

"Mm-hm." Kaz nodded, smiling.

"Oh my gosh!" Tom's sudden out burst made Kaz jump, slip, and fall to the ground, "M-my parents! When they realize I'm missing they'll freak!"

"Easy, Tom!" Kaz got to his feet, dusting himself off, "You're still at home, probably _juuusssttt_ starting to wake up. Nothing to worry about."

"Okay, maybe you _are_ still crazy." Tom scowled, "How can I be here and still at home?"

"I'm not crazy." Kaz made a face, "So quit calling me that!"

"Alright, alright, I'm sorry. You're not crazy."

Kaz huffed but the frown on his face vanished, "At first, there's just you—physically and mentally. But once you activate your Transport Code a wormhole opens up in your mind and creates a Code version of you." He tapped Tom's chest, "Which is here. So while your real self is at home doing chores and homework, you have what people call your Chaotic-self here having the time your life."

"So how do I get myself to go back home? I mean, back to my earth self…or whatever."

"With your Scanner." Kaz pointed to the blue device that was still in Tom's hand, "You press this button here," He pointed to the Chaotic symbol at the top, "And back on Earth your real self's Code Scanner starts blinking. When they press the same button, you leave Chaotic and get sent back to Earth as a string of memory codes. See? Easy as pie."

"Glad you understand it 'cause it's giving me a headache." Tom grumbled. But he held up his Scanner and hit the button on the top. Nothing happened. He frowned and hit it again. And again. And again, "Tch, Kaz—!"

"Calm down." Kaz took Tom's Scanner from him, turned it over in his hands, and handed it back, "Your Scanner's working fine. The reason nothing's happening is just because your Earth-self isn't answering their Code Scanner." Kaz set off again, heading around the outside of the balcony, and Tom followed him, "See, what happens is that when you port to Chaotic your online deck gets locked."

"Why?" Tom watched another Battle Drome pass by as they walked down a sloped path and into the shade of a marble pavilion.

"Because your Chaotic-self has control of your deck." Kaz chuckled, walking out from underneath the pavilion and heading around the side of Port Court buildings, "A lot of new players freak out because they think they're Scanner's broken. I was nearly hysterical when it happened to me!"

"Was that the day you wanted to skip school because your Scanner wasn't working?"

"Yeah." Kaz responded sheepishly.

Tom laughed at the memory, "Knowing me, I'd probably get mad at you and chuck it in the trash." Kaz stopped walking and Tom bumped into him, "Kaz, what the heck?"

"Tom, if you trashed you Scanner back on Earth," Kaz turned around, looking worried, "Then you can't _ever_ port out! You'll be stuck here in Chaotic forever!"

"Well that can't be too bad." Tom reasoned, "I mean, there's food and I'd never go to school and I could play Chaotic all day—."

"You don't understand, Tom!" Kaz grabbed his shoulders, "You _have_ to port back! I've seen what happens to players who get stuck here!"

"What!? What happens to them!?"

"They just…fade away." Kaz was pale and Tom felt sick to his stomach, "No one's really sure what happens but…but they just sort of go all ghost-like and then vanish."

"And…their real-selves?"

"I've never seen it but I've heard rumors. I…I heard they go crazy."

"Kaz, you gotta get me home!" Tom panicked, "I can't fade away! I can't go crazy!" He ran a hand through his hair agitatedly, "What're we going to do!?" He turned back the way they had come, running up the sloped path to the balcony.

"Tom, where're you going?"

"This is your fault, Kaz!" Tom rounded on his friend, pointing an accusing finger, "If I go crazy, it's your fault! I should never have listened to you! You and your nutcase stories!"

"Hey!" Kaz snapped back angrily, pushing his glasses up his nose, "Don't blame me because you were stupid enough to trash your Scanner! And I'm not a nutcase!"

"You are too!"

"You take that back!" Kaz squared off against Tom, eyes blazing.

"Why should I!?" Tom retorted hotly, "You can't take me back!"

"Okay, okay!" Kaz stepped back, holding up his hands submissively, "Fighting isn't getting us anywhere." He turned around and walked to the railing, tapping his fingers on it thoughtfully. Tom stood back, watching him.

"What should we do?"

"Alright, here's the plan." Kaz said seriously as he turned back around, "I'll just port home," He moved his hands to the left, "Go over to your house," He waved his hands forward and Tom raised an eyebrow, "And talk to you about this whole thing. And if you threw out your Scanner…we'll find."

"Sound good. Except for the part about where you talk to me."

"Why? What's wrong with that?"

"I thought you were mentally unstable! Insane!" Kaz's cheeks colored slightly but he kept a straight face, "There's no way the me on Earth is going to believe you!"

"Ah, but that's the beauty of it!" Kaz smiled wickedly, "You tell me a secret—something that nobody else knows! That way when I port home, I can tell it to you there and you'll believe me!"

"A…secret…I don't really have any—."

"Sure you do." Kaz nudged him in the side, "It has to be something you've never told _anyone_! _Ever_!"

"Weeeelll," Tom fiddled with the edge of his shirt and then said in a low voice, "There was this one summer where I went to camp and I thought I'd—."

"Signed up for basketball but got ballet instead, yeah." Kaz waved a hand dismissively through the air, "Come on, that's lame. Everyone knows that one. Tell me something juicy."

Tom turned red and looked at the white tile beneath his bare feet. There was _one_ but he wasn't really sure it was something he should share. Then again, it was either a secret or going crazy. He swallowed and beckoned Kaz with a single finger. Kaz leaned forward and Tom whispered in his ear,

"I made out with Courtney Doxxin in the girl's locker room at the middle school last year. She swore us to secrecy and neither of us has ever told a soul."

Kaz sputtered in surprise and backpedaled, mouth hanging open. He recovered quickly, though, and pulled out his Code Scanner, "Okay, I'll just go back home and tell…that to your Earth-self and you'll be back before you know it." His finger hovered over the button, "Eh…uhm…what was it like?"

"Kaz!" Tom said, his face flushing again.

"Oh, yeah, right, sorry!" Kaz hit the button. His entire form became a mass of glowing letters and numbers and dissolved upward, spiraling into the misty sky. All of this happened in less than a second.

Tom hung his head, walking over to lean against the railing. His cheeks were pink, "I thought he'd forgotten about that mix up with ballet that summer…"

"Hey there," Tom spun around at the sound of an unfamiliar voice, "Nice match. You kicked SamShady off his high horse."

"Who—?" Tom began but the taller, obviously older boy cut him off.

"Klayborne Rogers. But everyone calls me Klay."

* * *

_If anyone says anything about the battle I'm going to sick a pack of rabid, fuzzy, pink bunny slippers on them. My rewrite. I'll do as I very well please._

_On the other hand…_

_Yay! Klay's finally shown up! I've actually been looking forward to writing him! He's such an interesting character; so manipulative with just a touch of darkness. Krystella certainly adds to that darkness. Alas, she is not here yet. Soon but not yet._

_I also had my bit of fun. Since we never find out what Tom's big secret actually was, I thought I'd just go right ahead and make one up on the spot. I think it was a pretty good one too, if I do say so myself. If anyone else had any theories as to what it was, I'd like to hear them! I am interested in the secret life of Thomas Majors!_

_Oh geez, that didn't sound right._

_Not that anything's sounding right at this moment in time. It's almost one in the morning and I just spent the better half of two hours playing Chaotic against my brother. He beat me. Again. Shaaaaaammmmmeeee._

_Aaaaaanyway, I'll stop rambling and let you guys get on with the story. _

_Thanks for reading and for the people who've been reviewing and faving this story! It means a lot! Thanks you guys! _


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